Behenji has lost her bahubali- The SoftCopy

Behenji has lost her bahubali*

By Dipika Datta Pillay

BANGALORE (Feb. 9)—The Uttar Pradesh elections have always held major importance in Indian politics. Because it is the largest state in India, it contributes a large number of seats to the Lok Sabha lower house of parliament. With a total of 403 seats this year, top parties like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are competing.

Last year Mayawati, the Dalit queen’s BSP won with an absolute majority of 206 seats. This year the scenario seems to be bleak. With the list of scams, corruption and monetary swindling that has shell shocked the nation; the BSP and Congress, both have lost their charm. People at the grassroots have complained about corrupt babus (bureaucrats), law being partial and weak administration.

Apart from the constant mudslinging in rallies, there is more drama added this year. For Behenji (as Mayawati is fondly called) this year hasn’t been as promising as expected. From WikiLeaks revealing her fetish for shoes to slapping her ministers in public to declining seats in the Lok Sabha for many of her sitting MLAs—she has satisfied her craving for attention.

It is a universal truth that many of these babus have a huge influence on voters and this is the card that can go against her leadership. Mayawati’s idea of dividing UP into four different states— Paschhimanchal, Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand and Awadh—hasn’t garnered the much deserved attention she wanted to.

Yes, her agenda of setting up elephants across the state at public spaces like parks and offices has added as a symbolic impact signifying the progress of the underprivileged. But major strata of the society think it was a waste. The fact that she has been a prominent figure in UP politics and a four-time CM gives her an upper hand.

Critiques have questioned her increase in personal wealth as well, but like all those things in India that go unnoticed, this is one of them. Mayawati has a major advantage in Dalit strongholds of Bundelkhand and Jhansi. Public in the state have developed second thoughts about her leadership owing to the lack of development and waste of public money.

BSP’s low performance in the past few years is a major advantage for other contesting parties. For SP it is Akhilesh Yadav, the youth leader contesting in place of his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has generated ample interest with the youth. Wide amount of foundation values and work at the grassroots has made Akhilesh the flavor of the season. It is said that this election will establish him in Indian politics.

Akhilesh has also issued orders that if he comes to power he will not be encouraging the “goonda” (goon) leaders, who have been controlling UP. His ideas are clear but need implementation.

Mulayam Singh Yadav had hinted that once they come to power, senior SP member Azam Khan will be made the CM, a tactic to move the Muslim voters. It’s evident that the internal conflict within the party, especially with Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Yadav is a disadvantage.

Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, the messiah of the poor, has been widely contesting all around UP shouting out that his party is good and they deserve a chance. Apart from taking shots at the current government he has been visiting Dalit houses and lunching with them to prove that he is fit for the post. He termed previous governments to be fooling the public from the past 22 years and said it’s a crime. He also visited the Bhatta Parsaul village to sympathize and protest with agitating farmers against the government’s land acquisition rule.

As a part of its political agenda, the entire Jaipur Literature Festival and not allowing Rushdie to step foot in India was used to convince the Muslims to redirect their vote. A proper time to garner sympathy. Well played Mr. Gandhi.

What happens with the central government scams does not hold much value for voters in UP, majority of who are illiterate. The 2G and Commonwealth Games scams are meant for bigger audiences.

The electorate in UP sees the personality they vote for for the individuals they are. Self-proclaimed heroine Uma Bharati of the BJP holds a very small chance of winning the elections. To impress voters, BJP has issued a notice that within 24 hours of it coming to power in UP, an inquiry commission will be formed to question Mayawati’s corruption.

UP also has the highest number of criminals contesting. An article written by Virendra Nath Bhatt in Tehelka points out that from the total of 867 registered candidates, as many as 109 have criminal cases filed against them. They include murder, abduction, robbery and extortion cases pending against them. SP tops this chart with 28 of its candidates having criminal records, followed by the BSP and BJP who have 24 each, Congress has 15, Peace Party has 12, Janata Dal (United) has five and Rashtriya Lok Dal has one.

On the positive side, the largest state in India with a population of more than 170 million has new voters this time. According to news reports, the last session’s poll turnout was around 108 million, and this year the voter list has reached over 111 million.

*Bahubali is a Hindi word meaning strength.